Blame in West Jordan dog-beating questionable

WEST JORDAN — Dale Sweat is seeking some sort of justice after a teenager allegedly beat Sweat's 6-year-old dog Nikki with a baseball bat.

A couple of weeks ago, Sweat said Nikki barked at the boy who was passing his yard as he delivered fliers. Later, the teenager returned, called the dog to him and allegedly beat her with a baseball bat he found in the yard.

Sweat said the boy claimed the dog attacked him, but Sweat insists Nikki has never been an aggressive animal.

"Our dog would never hurt anybody," he said. "She barks occasionally at people who go by, just because she wants them to pay attention to her, but she'd let anybody pet her. My grandkids pull on her, pet her and she's just as nice as can be."

On the other hand, West Jordan Police Sgt. Drew Sanders said witnesses saw Sweat's dog accost the teenager as he was attempting to do his work.

"We've been told by witnesses that he was accosted three different times and eventually had to cross in front of these people's house (to avoid the dog). The boy thought he was going to be bit and looked around for anything he could find to defend himself," he said.

Sanders said the teenager did strike a few blows. Sweat said that he ended up spending about $400 on veterinary treatment and pain medicine for the animal, but is more "disappointed" in the response he got from police and animal control officers.

"Basically the police department said I was at fault because my dog wasn't on a leash. So someone can come down the street, walk onto my yard, take something of mine, push my granddaughter and beat my dog and it's my fault?"

Sanders said they don't believe the boy was maliciously beating the dog. The situation has been turned over to prosecutors to decide who was at fault in the matter.

"We have information from both sides, and we just have to look at did he maliciously beat the dog or were these people letting the dog unlawfully run at large? It makes you wonder if they'd been following the law, if this would have occurred," Sanders said.

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